Prairie Village crime, residential burglaries down significantly in 2011

Final crime statistics for 2011 suggest the new crime prevention tactics employed by the Prairie Village Police department may have started to pay off.

Total crime was down 23 percent from 2010, with residential burglaries at their lowest levels since 2007, when just 24 were reported. The police department recorded 58 residential burglaries in the city in 2011, down from the 68 recorded in both 2009 and 2010.

“We’re on the right track,” said Police Chief Wes Jordan, “but we’ve still got a ways to go.”

Recorded incidents of assault, theft and criminal damages also fell sharply from 2010 to 2011.

Crime in Mission Hills, for which the Prairie Village Police Department manages public safety services, saw an uptick — though since the community is smaller a few incidents can have significant impact on the end-of-year statistics. Crime rose from 55 reported incidents in 2010 to 81 reported incidents in 2011 — still below the 92 and 106 incidents reported in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Jumps in thefts and criminal damages were the main culprits in the increased crime rate.